Opinion

Honor Newtown victims by dealing with guns and mental health issues

The families of Newtown, Conn., have a simple request on the anniversary of the tragic shooting that took 26 lives, 20 of them children, a year ago at Sandy Hook Elementary School: Honor the victims by performing an act of kindness on Saturday. We'll try to honor that request, and we hope others do, too.

But, frankly, there's more that needs doing. Twenty-six died on Dec. 14, 2012, in Newtown, and there have been other mass shootings since. But when we honor those victims, let's also honor the many other victims of gun violence in our communities. In Milwaukee alone so far this year, 98 people have been killed and there have been more than 400 shootings, according to Police Lt. Mark Stanmeyer.

Some of what needs doing involves approving measures that keep guns out of the hands of the wrong people; some of it involves providing more assistance to those with mental health issues such as Adam Lanza, the shooter in Newtown.

On mental health, some progress has been made in the last year in the wake of the Newtown shootings, but much more needs to be done, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. The alliance reported that 36 states and the District of Columbia increased funding for mental health this year.

Wisconsin was among those, with Gov. Scott Walker adding about $28 million to the state budget to deal with mental health issues. And this week, the Obama administration promised $100 million to increase access and quality of mental health services.

Those are all good steps, although given the track record on mental health care in this country and cuts in funding for care in previous years, there's a lot of catching up to do.

On guns, little has happened. Outrage over mass shootings only goes so far. In fact, The New York Times reported this week that in the 12 months since the Newtown shooting almost every state has enacted at least one new gun law and that "nearly two-thirds of the new laws ease restrictions and expand the rights of gun owners."

On the federal level, President Barack Obama proposed a series of new gun-control measures, including an expansion of federal background check laws. But passage in the U.S. Senate was blocked by those who fear any further restrictions on the right to bear arms. "Cowards" is what we called those senators who failed to vote for a simple expansion of background checks. And that's what they were.

It's time to find some courage and truly honor the victims of violence.